Football | 10/21/2022 4:22:00 PM

ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University football program have been strong in its Homecoming matchup as of late, riding a four-game winning streak into Saturday's game, having not lost since the 2016 iteration when #15 Grambling State spoiled the party.
 
What You Need to Know:
 
    •    Time and Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022 (3 p.m.)
 
    •    Video: https://hbcugo.tv/
 
    •    Audio: http://www.glineradio.com/ (G-Line Radio with Lee Hall and Joshua Davis)
 
    •    Live Stats: https://mvsusports.com/sidearmstats/football/summary
 
    •    Tickets: http://mvsusports.myimpacttickets.com/
 
    •    Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-7, 0-4 SWAC) | Bethune-Cookman (1-5, 1-2 SWAC)
 
    •    Location: Itta Bena, Mississippi – Rice-Totten Stadium at Chuck Prophet Field
 
    •    Series History: Bethune-Cookman Leads 5-2
 
    •    Last Meeting: October 9, 2021 | Mississippi Valley State 20, Bethune-Cookman 14 | Daytona Beach, Florida (Daytona Stadium)
 
    •    Winning Streak: Mississippi Valley State (W1) | Bethune-Cookman's Last Win: September 21, 2019 (22-6)
 
    •    All-Time History vs. SWAC Opponents: SWAC Leads 300-135-9
 
Mississippi Valley State Overview:
 
Defensive Coordinator Javier Gonzalez's defense has been one of the better run-stopping squads in the FCS this season, slotting among the top-50 for rushing yards allowed per game at only 141.3.
 
Valley has also been a well-coached unit, slotting third in the conference with an average of just 63.29 penalty yards per game.
 
Ronnie Thomas should be on the short list for SWAC Defensive Player of the Year candidates, registering a sack per contest to rank tenth in the FCS while tallying 1.9 tackles for loss a night to slot fifth nationally. The Clinton, Mississippi native is also tops among Devils defenders for total tackles (42), tackles for loss (13), TFL yards (61), sacks (7), and sack yardage (48) plus a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and two quarterback hurries.
 
If the signal-caller can get the ball off before Thomas arrives, he will still have to account for both Abdural Lee and Kalib Alexander lurking in the secondary as both players are picking off a pass every three games on average, the ninth-best rate in the league.
 
Special teams have been led by a pair of top-40 contributors in Donald Johnson III and Orlando Fernandez, who sit in that range statistically for kickoff return average (22.1) and net punting (41.2), respectively.
 
Despite a slow start by his lofty standards, Caleb Johnson still sports the fifth-most rushing yards in the SWAC this season with 411 while Jamari Jones has thrown for the fifth-highest passing touchdown total at five.
 
Scouting The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats:

Bethune's second season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference is not going much better than its first when it went 2-9, sitting at 1-5 on the campaign with its lone victory over Grambling State on September 24, 36-19.
 
The Wildcats are led by an opportunistic defense that has snatched ten takeaways including six interceptions and they have one of the better kickoff return units in the NCAA, averaging 24.48 yards per return to slot 17th in the FCS.
 
Darnell Deas is primarily responsible for the special teams' success as the lethal return specialist is one of only two SWAC players with a touchdown on a kickoff and is fifth in the NCAA with 457 combined return yards and third for kickoff yardage on average at 32.6.
 
The secondary is commanded by Omari Hill-Robinson with four pass breakups and three interceptions, and the offense runs through Jalon Jones whose 1,104 passing yards is third-most in the SWAC.
 
Follow the Mississippi Valley State football program on Twitter (@ValleyStateFB) and Instagram (@ValleyStateFB).
 
Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@ValleyStateAthletics).